Sleeping on empty stomach, migrant workers long for home in Punjab

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, April 17

Amid the Covid-19 lockdown, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s assurance to his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar about taking care of migrants stranded in Punjab appears to be hollow.

‘No food for my children’

In the first week of the lockdown, officials visited us and distributed food. That was all. They didn't visit us in the subsequent weeks. I have spent my savings. Now, I do not have a single rupee to buy food for my children. Ajay Mandal, native of Bihar

Scores of migrant labourers from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and other states, who play a vital role in industrial and agricultural operations in Punjab, are claiming that they have not been receiving food for the past 10 days.

With Punjab borders sealed till further orders and no mode of transportation, they are left with no option but to stay put. Capt Amarinder had asked Bihar CM Kumar to make an appeal in this regard, while assuring that their lodging would be the liability of the Punjabis (Punjab Government) during the lockdown.

Notwithstanding the government claims, the ground reality paints a different picture. Barring a few NGOs, no government agency has come forward to ensure two square meals a day for a majority of migrants putting up at Focal Point, Verka, Tung Pai, Mohakampura, Chatti village, Chamrang road, Inderpuri, Kot Khalsa, Guru Nanak Pura and Haripura.

The lockdown has come as a double blow for hundreds of Bihar and UP natives living on the Chamrang road, where 300 families live. In June last year, their shanties and belongings were gutted in fire. Slowly and slowly, they were bringing their lives back on track when the lockdown hit them hard.

Ajay Mandal, a native of Bihar, said: “In the first week of the lockdown, officials visited our locality and distributed food. That was all. They didn’t visit us in the subsequent weeks. I have spent my savings. Now, I do not have a single rupee to buy food for my children.”

Another migrant Sulekha Devi said, “Ration has finished. I feel mentally tortured to see my children sleep on empty stomach. My husband, who worked in a textile factory, has not received his salary ever since the lockdown was clamped. We want the state government to facilitate our return to our home states.”

Amritsar Mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu said, “I will ensure regular supply of food and essential items to migrants living on the Chamrang road and in Kot Khalsa. Officials will be asked to survey other areas to streamline the food distribution process.”